Check out the You Tube Field Day Video for the SJRA

10 GHz Slot Antenna

A 10 GHz slot antenna (most commonly configured as a slotted waveguide antenna) is a highly efficient, rugged, and low-loss microwave antenna operating in the 3 cm amateur radio band (10.0–10.5 GHz). These antennas are highly favored by radar engineers and amateur radio operators for their ability to provide high gain and a perfectly tailored horizontal polarization with omnidirectional or highly directional beam patterns

Primary Applications

Amateur Microwave Beacons: Used extensively as localized omnidirectional beacons transmitting weak-signal CW or digital modes to test propagation conditions like rain scatter or tropospheric ducting. [1, 2]

Marine and Weather Radar: Commercial radar systems utilize directional slotted waveguides to generate sharp, horizontal tracking beams across the horizon. [1, 2, 3]

Testing 10GHz Slot Antennas as Rover During the June VHF Contesst - Part of our strategy was to test 10 GHz Slot antennas, to minimize set up and take down time. This proved to be an effective strategy to work within a 5-10 mile range for contacts. Chris also made a mountain top contact from FN31 to Jeff K1TEO with a range of 67 km deploying the slot antenna. In order to stay on schedule we had to abandon setting up the larger 2 foot Dishes for 10GHz and relied solely on our Slot antennas which were roof mounted on top of our rovers.

Slot Antenna Contact for K1TEO and KE5NJ/R 67 K

View a You Tube Short Video on my Rover 10GHz Slot Installation here

Here is article from Paul Wade W1GHZ on Slot Antennas

Bert Modderman Engineer

https://pe1rki.com/parabolics.html

OZ2OE Technical Home Page - 10 GHz waveguide slot antenna. please click here

Principle:

A slotted waveguide antenna works by radiating energy from the inside though a number of slots cut in the waveguide. Each slot acts as a (slotted) dipole, with the polarity opposite the direction of the slot. A vertical slot gives a horizontal polarisation.

With many slots in a waveguide the antenna works like a stacked array of dipoles. More slots means more gain. And with slots on both sides the radiation pattern becomes (reasonably) omnidirectional.